Election Night and the Celebration afterwards...

I spent election night with my friends June and Ed...we had wifi in the hotel room and CNN in english. We stayed in all evening and ordered a pizza from a place next door called Chicago Pizza, which we assume is the reason why Obama won!!! Or, just one of the reasons :)Ed enjoying a slice of Chicago Pizza while staying tuned in online to CNN coverage...we had to be the firsts to know anything and everything!!!

The answer we were all looking for...the moment when Barack, Michelle, and family came out on stage for his acceptance speech! It was a glorious moment :)

We went out for a celebration breakfast and I bought a spanish newspaper...They have said people often remember moments in their lives by remembering where they were when something significant occurred. I will never forget watching Obama win the presidency from my hotel room in Ecuador.
We weren´t the only ones paying attention to the news. This Ecuadorian man sits reading the coverage on November 5th while getting his shoes shined just off the central plaza in Cuenca!

Dia de los Muertos en Cuenca

As a celebration of the Latin holiday, we went to the cemetery to see all the festivities. There was this beautiful, albeit sad, monument to Ecuadorians who had fallen trying to immigrate the United States. The figures are etched in glass, walking the path, from young to old, men and women.

We were surprised to find that the cemetery was more festive than imagined - it appeared more like Carnival...people selling food and typical Day of the Dead ¨Juajuita de Pan¨ y ¨Colada Morada¨ so we thought where better to have dinner...

The food was excellent. We had meat skewers, tortillas, little fried doughnuts, colada morada which is a heated fruit drink. Here, Dani with a skewer of meat and a tortilla de choclo (yellow corn).

This was the church right outside of my hotel on the night of November 1st all lit up for the Day of the Dead.

My new friends in Cuenca

Cuenca would not have been nearly as much fun had I not my new friends from around the world...It was fortuitous that I met June (from England) and Ed (from Canada) on the train ride. Then after one night in the Casa Naranja hostal where I met Otavio (from Brazil) and Daniel (from Spain), we were all kicked out. Ok, I lie. Actually, they let Otavio stay in the hostal -- he was the only one willing to pay $24 for a room there. The others of us found cheaper and more friendly rooms in the city!

Me and June all SMILES!!!

I think I laughed and cried more in the 4 days I was in Cuenca than I have in my entire trip. From a hilarious situation eating ice cream cones in the central park, going out dancing and having a few too many drinks for once, to watching election results, I felt a really close connection with these people. Life is good when you meet good people :)

Have you ever ridden on the top of a train? Or even been encouraged to ride on the train? I think this is the only place in the world that it might be legal and fun to ride atop a moving train car. They provide railings and cushions and snack vendors, too, so who needs the dining car? The ride started from Riobamba. Here I visited a church located at the highest point in the city from which you can see the snow capped Volcan Tungarahua and Chimborazo. The volcano is off to the left and covered with clouds, but if you look to the right you can see the snow capped mountain in the distance!!!
Along the way, we went through small towns and wide open valleys. Ecuador is currently going through transition as they voted a new Constitution into affect. Along the route, you could see the campaign propaganda with the words ¨Vota Si¨or ¨Vota No¨ painted on homes or any available surface.

Aside from the 8 uncomforatble hours atop the train which started in the cold windy rainy town of Riobamba, I had a fabulous time on this ride, and met two new friends - June and Ed - who I was so fortunate to sitting next to on the ride. We ended up spending the next 5 days together!

Bike ride to Las Amazonas

The bike ride started in Baños, a town of about 12,000 in teh southern Andes of Ecuador. This shot taken from the Mirador de la Virgen where you can see the town is set in a bowl surrounded on all sides by mountains, behind me is the quite active Volcan Tungarahua.

I met these 4 --Sarah, Zach, Dan, and Whitney who are all currently living on the west coast of Ecuador either studying or just travelling, and they joined me for the bike ride! It was so nice to have company :) We travelled east through the winding valley connecting Baños to Puyo, the entrance to the Amazon region of Ecuador.

The 61km (38mile) bike ride took us past 20+ waterfalls, through small towns, and along the Rio Verde which snakes into the Amazon. Beautiful ride and we made it to Puyo just before the afternoon rainfall.

Me and my trusty bike at the last stop before entering Puyo. At this point, I was pretty sore...

Baño Privado...

I am glad I remembered to bring my own toilet paper. Next time I will bring my own seat!!! (Tom Maguire, this photo is for you...)

Today is an Important Day!

Today, November 4th, 2008, could be one of the most important days in politics in my lifetime. I have been following the election coverage, debates, and final moments of the campaign from spanish television in many parts of the latin world. Last night I sat in my little $15 hotel room in the attic of a hotel in Cuenca, Ecuador glued to the CNN coverage, happy to finally be able to watch in English!

About 4 months ago, when I was still living in Honduras, I sent in my request for an absentee ballot to the Fairfax Co, Virginia registration board anticipatin that it would be awaiting my arrival the first week in September when I was home. Unfortunately, it was too late. About a week after I began travelling, the ballot arrived at my parents house where they were able to send it to my friend Mauricio at his home in California, so that he could bring it to me when we met up in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia. Once in Medellin we hunted down a no. 2 pencil in order that I could vote. I was not going to risk having my vote not count based on incorrect graphite. Upon Mauricio´s return to the USA, he mailed in my ballot to arrive on time in Virginia. And I can´t tell you how glad I am today to say that I voted, that I took that time and went through a 4 month process so that my vote would be included in today´s ballot count. Not many people are willing to take even the time to go to the polls and wait in line on a cold fall day, but with this I urge you to go out and vote, and let me tell you why I think that today, more than ever, it is important that you do...

Last night I heard John McCain say something very critical. He said, ¨Barack Obama wants to spread the wealth. I want to create wealth.¨ In that moment, watching from my little attic space ina hotel in Ecuador, I thanked John McCain for sending those words out to people not only in the USA but to all corners of the world watching the election coverage. Because, more so than in any election I have been alive for, this year the election in the USA is not just about the United States of America, it is about every human being alive in this world. This election is not about the USA, it is not about us as Americans, it is a global issue. And to share the wealth is just what we need to be reminded of if we are going to CHANGE the state of the world.

I am currently reading a book by Jeffrey Sachs called ¨The End of Poverty¨ - in which he talks about the UN Millenium Goal of ending extreme poverty by 2025. As Jeffrey Sachs puts it, we in the western world have the ability with our financial and human resources to put an end to suffering in the developing world. Sadly enough though, we choose not to do it. Think about it. We have the power to CHANGE the world, to put an end to people dying from disease, to improve people´s access to water, food, housing, and healthcare. We have the resources to provide life saving drugs and mosquito nets to people dying of malaria and AIDS. BUT, we choose to neglect those people, we determine who we think should live, who is deserving of aid. But above all, we choose that our lives remain comfortable, free of pain or suffering, cold or hunger, before we reach a hand out to a single one of those persons in need. All, when we have that ability in our hands. This is not just an issue affecting Africa although the greatest number and percentage of people living in extreme poverty are in Africa; this is a global issue.

Over the last 2.5 years I have lived in Honduras and travelled to Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. Only Colombia being a country above the extreme poverty line. I have seen the global problem in the faces and words of every person I meet. I have worked with people who are hungry because the rains have ruined their crops -- we worked with them to find access to new markets, with children who can´t fend for themselves -- Grace Church sent funding, who are cold because they only had a 3 sided house and a tarp to cover them -- we built them a house, who can´t afford healthy food and medication for Diabetes -- my parents sent in help, too. I offered my own mosquito net to a family who needed it more than I did, I held the hands of a mother and sister who cried watching their son and brother who had committed suicide dying in a public hospital without hope for a better future. I sat at the bedside, prayed with families and went to funerals of people who were dying and eventually died of cancer because of chemicals used in nearby fields for vegetables exported to the United States. I layed sick in bed with Dengue for 10 days and read in the newspaper of children and adults who were dying of the same fever that struck me, all because they lacked the care that I as a westerner was receiving. And Honduras is not considered to be a developing country in the most extreme sense of poverty.

Today the world ways in. It is a vote for America with a global impact. Our vote today impacts the whole world. Last week I sat next to an old Ecuadorian woman who was obviously sick and dying, had not bathed, and had no money to pay her $0.75 bus fee. I gave another homeless woman the bread I had just bought at the bakery because she didn´t have 25 cents sufficient enough to put a temporary end to her persistent hunger. Every town I have visited on my travels, I have been asked by locals to support Obama. Every person I meet on the bus or in hostals is tied into this election today. Only in Colombia did I meet one McCain supporter, but other than that, each and every person I have met is tied into this election today because they know that it means on a global level. For the last 4 days I have been travelling with 4 new friends -- Ed, a Canadian man, June, an English woman, Otavio the Brazilian, and Daniel, a Spaniard - and never was I more proud to be able to say to them to that I got my vote in for today´s elections! My fear, as always, is that the republicans will find some way to take the election. We saw it happen 4 years ago, 8 years ago. Today, we must not let that happen. We must remember the vote is not about US, today we must think about something much greater.

I originally thought I wanted to be surrounded today by Americans, having a nice dinner and a drink while watching as the polls closed and the election results came flowing in. I thought I wanted to watch the election coverage in english and take a break from having to pay attention to spanish and give my mind a rest for once. But as it turns out, tonight I will be watching the results with a canadian and an english woman who have just as much invested in the outcome as you and me, but aren´t able to cast their ballot. Tonight I will watch the coverage in spanish, because now is not a time to rest or to relax, it is a time when we need to work even harder than ever to insure we make the right decisions for the future, not only of the US, but for the entire world. Tonights decision is about humanity and will test whether we as Americans still have it. You may or may not agree with me. You may or may not have ever had a cold shower or worse no water for bathing. You may or may not have ever been hungry or uncomfortable. You may or may not have ever had experiences like those I mentioned above, nor the opportunity to actually do something about it...until today. Please go vote!

I voted for Obama today, but I do not envy him. The role that the next president will play is not an easy one. The challenges are not going to be easily overcome. Today, I voted for Obama because I know that he can inspire in each of us the action necessary to work together so that we really can create CHANGE. I did not vote for Obama, I voted for are all of the people in the world today who have not been afforded the opportunity that I and my family and friends have. I voted for Clementina and her 53 children. I voted for Dunia who died alone of AIDS. I voted for Mariano who will get worse without proper income, diet, and medication. I voted for Hector and his 8 brothers and sisters and 23 neices and nephews who deserve better education and jobs. It is only by the Grace of God that I ended up who I am, and even so, I do not deserve any better than the people I mention above, the people who have touched my lives and made me realize what today is all about. Along with Obama today, I ask each of you...BE the CHANGE!

The Quilotoa Loop

I decided it was time for a more rural adventure, so I set off to do the southern half of the Quilotoa Loop. This loop which takes about 2-3 days to navigate -- by a combination of buses, hiking, and riding in the back of pick-up trucks -- takes you through the upper Paramo - a dry and cold landscape with desert cactus, canyons, and rocky peaks. You pass through farms which cultivate Ava, a green leafy vegetable much like spinach, known also as Mate in Argentina, where it is smoked to help with high altitude and respiratory functions. You see llamas (alpacas), sheep, and lots of very large hogs. In this hillside view you can see a typical house...thatched roof huts which are built into the mountainside to protect them from the elements and use the slope for refuge against the wind.

After a 2 hour bus ride, I arrived in Zumbahua where I caught a truck going towards the Laguna de Quilotoa, a crater lake, and the only official tourist attraction in the region. This photo of the peaks above Zumbahua is taken from the back of the pick-up which took me the 15 km to the Crater Lake.

It was a cool morning when I started the hike down into the crater. I had hired a little boy to bring his mule down later to bring me back up the mountain. It was breathtaking in more ways than one, and I decided the mule would be easier on my lungs than hiking back up to the top! I arrived at the bottom to take photos, opted out of the boat tour, and had a cup of tea with a couple from France. Then my mule showed up for the return journey. It had started raining a little while I was sipping my tea, but just when we got started up the mountain, the rain turned to a hailstorm. The ice pellets were hitting us pretty hard, so we decided to wait the storm out a while. A few minutes later, it passed and I got back onto the mule who at that point was drenched, cold, and unhappy. It was a wet ride up to the top, but well worth the few dollars spent.
After my cold and wet journey, I was ready for some hot tea. When I got to the little restaurant at the top of the Crater Lake, these women were serving lunch and hot soup. The lunch didn´t look to appetizing, so I opted for trying the Sopa de Ava. The two older women in this photo, Maria Latacunga and Maria Hortencia, were very pleased, and sat watching me while I ate. I had to run to catch the bus and we snapped this quick photo. I looked at it and started laughing at how huge I was next to them. I hadn´t noticed since we had all been sitting down while I ate my soup. Then all 3 of them started laughing as well!

the markets in otavalo, ecuador...

you can get pretty much anything you´ve ever wanted...rice and grains, bread baked in the form of a llama, or roast PIG....

To avoid some political activity that caused road closures in the southern Colombia I had to catch a flight from Medellin to Pasto. Not too bad since I wasn´t looking forward to another 20 hour bus ride in 2 weeks. This is the view of the Andes from above. I took this photo just before we landed in Bogota where I had a 15 minute layover, the capital city is located on a plain high in the northern Andean Cordillera.

Powerful Exhibit in el Museo de Anitoquia, Medellin

In this wall are almost 600,000 faces. Tallies of international organizations say that the forced displacement has affected up to 4,500,000 people. The violence that results from Coca and African Palm plantations is one of the most deadly causes of displacement in Colombia.

I voted,...will you? Go Democrat Virginia!!!!

My ballot arrived in Colombia by way of Mauricio...at which point we had to search all over Medellin for a #2 pencil. I am happy to say my vote should have already arrived in Fairfax County to be included on November 4th! Could this be the first time in 44 years that Virginia voters vote for a Democrat? Let´s sure hope so...

Happier Report from Ecuador

Well, I will admit I was able to find a few nice things to say about Quito. At the end of the day, I rambled into the largest Gothic Cathedral I have ever seen in my life. It was quite beautiful. Then I took myself out for dinner -- splurging on myself I spent $15 on dinner just to make sure that I would fall asleep happily...and the scene in the new town at night was quite fun for dinner and a drink! But I was just as happy to get on a bus this morning and leave the city. Went through a fabulous hail storm where I could see the snow capped peak of Cotapaxi -- the highest in Ecuador -- and arrived in a nice little small town where I will rest my head for the night. I can already tell that my blood pressure has returned to normal!!!

Bicyclists on Sidewalks and other Annoyances of the Ecuadorian Capital

I only arrived in Quito 6 hours ago and I am already ready to face another bus ride just to get out of the Capital city. I am not sure if it is the gray skies and rain that are keeping me from seeing the bright side of this place, but right now I would prefer to be in Tegucigalpa, and that is saying a lot. But...as the eternal optomist I went out in search of something to change my mind. Instead, I found children who wanted to polish my tennis shoes, a piece of cake that was overpriced at $3 and tasted like it was baked a month ago, a grouchy waitress at a cafe specializing in ¨empanadas de platano¨ but didn´t have any to offer and was annoyed with ME at that request, and a bicyclist who thought he owned the sidewalk and only stopped for me when his bike tire was actually touching my leg (And I think he thought I was in HIS way.)

I have heard so many wonderful things about Quito and came here in search of all of them, including that it boasts the largest in-tact historic core of colonial buildings in South America. I will agree that the buildings are beautiful, but I think the Lonely Planet writers got a little romantic over the balconies on the buildings, because, while they are nice to look at, it ends there. Most of the store fronts are crammed with poor quality fast food or boarded up shops. Panama City and Cartagena, Colombia offer equally as beautiful, if not more, historic cores, while on a slightly smaller scale. The thing that Quito has to offer are its plazas, very European, large stone expanses with historic churches and government buildings on all sides. This is a very religious country. There are more churches and monasteries here than I have encountered in other Latin American cities, but with that said, there are much better examples in Europe.

I also respect the fact that there has been some effort to bring modern conveniences to the old town, but the addition of contemporary light posts and kiosks does little to reinvigorate a place. I have met a few public spaces and pedestrian streets today that could be quite beautiful, but the city only added modern light posts, when they would have been much more pleasant spaces with the addition of some green (ie trees, grass, flowers), seating options, etc...so the spaces feel very empty save the beggars and street entertainment.

On two occasions today I entered beatufiul old historic buildings which had open air patios within. In both occasions I noticed people sitting around all edges of the space, so I stopped to see what they were all looking at...but the space held nothing, they were empty patios that had stone floors but lacked any of the traditional elements that make up latin american patios...such as plantings, fountains, statues. bizarre.

Though not a typically negative person, I am a little dumbfounded by this place.

I am going to give the new city a try tonight or tomorrow and hope to have better things to write...but with little expectations, I plan to be on my way out of Quito very soon.

Disclaimer: This speaks nothing about my sentiment for the rest of the country which is beautiful and has treated me very kindly.

Otavalo, Ecuador

I had a beautiful bus ride from the border of Colombia to the town of Otavalo, Ecuador -- home to one of the largest craft markets in South America. Passing through the Northern Andean Highlands is a sight unto itself. This region is full of fertile farm land as you can see in the photo above. As we passed through one town lower in the valley the temperatures picked up a bit, and you can see a line of little boys in the river if you look closely at this photo below. The town of Otavalo itself is unique in that the culture is highly preserved in language and traditional dress. The people are very humble and very kind -- always welcomgin conversation especially if it leads to a sale. Most of the vendors are themseles producing the crafts that they sell -- from jewelry to weavings, bags and blankets. The ponchos typically worn dur to the cold climate in the high sierras are made of alpaca or llama and are warm and cozy.
There is also a lot of great food in town, too -- I´ve enjoyed lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, every meal is served with a fresh fruit salad, last night I had Spinach Lasana and garlic bread. After I made my puchases in the market I sat in a pie shop and had Strawberry pie and a cup of coffee at a great price of $1.70. Can´t beat that. Am trying to contain my purchasing so that I have some money left over when I get to Peru...

Santuario de las Lajas - This Cathedral was built over a River Gorge in Ipiales, Southern Colombia. The original cathedral was begun in the 1700s after a woman passing through the region to visit her family saw an image of the Virgin appear on a stone wall. The church was built around the image to preserve it in its original location.

Medellin, Colombia

With my friend Mauricio at El Peñal, overlooking the hydro-electric lakes of Antioquia, Colombia

Once the drug capital of Colombia, Medellin sure has changed its face and has become an ideal city for urban designers wishing to build their ideas. Purely by chance, my tavel plans took me to the heart of Colombia at the same time my friend Mauricio (we worked together at ZGF, Los Angeles) was to be visiting his hometown for his father´s 80th birthday. I arrived by bus and we met on the side of the highway just outside of Medellin in the town of Rio Negro where his family lives. My bus driver refused to tell me the actual time we would arrive so Mauricio was waiting on teh highway for an hour, concerned that I had missed the stop. What a great opportunity to get together now with my improving spanish. I think it threw Mauricio off a little, because when we were working together I couldn´t speak a lick of the language. It was great to be included in all the family jokes though I had a little trouble with the Paisa accent at times. My first night in Medellin, we went to a family birthday party at the home of his cousin who lives in a 400 yr old Hacienda turned house. Absolutely beautiful home with just as amazing views over Medellin.

Day two was another big family occasion...with a surprise birthday party for Mauricio´s father. We started the morning with a nice breakfast in El Poblado district of downtown, and then went off to explore all the architectural delights of medellin. For a small city, it has invested heavily in public spaces, parks, and architecture (I have noticed this trend throughout Colombia). we started off on the metro line that runs almost the full length of the city, along the river dividing the city into two halves. Then we took the new Cable car up into the hillside to see one of the new libraries. Here is where the urban designers dream comes into play - I felt like i was excperiencing a grad school urban design project come to life in the built world. It was neat, but surely there was some urban renewal necessary to make it come to life. The mixture of parks and transit and libraries all set within an existing framework of a city...it was great!

After the library, we went to the botanical gardens to check out the fabulous Qrquid House and then had to run since we were short on time. That afternoon we went to Mr Ortega´s 80th birthday party which was just as fun as I imagined it would be. We ate at an excellent Argentinian restaurant and I made friends with all of the old men at the table. It was quite a good afternoon and I thinkI was just as entertained by Mauricio´s family as they were by me!!! They were truly wonderful to me and included me in all the family events of the weekend.
On sunday, we went to El Peñal which is a giant rock much like the one you see in images of Rio de Janeiro. We climbed to the top for the obligatory photos, which were quite spectacular! On monday mauricio had to leave for Los Angeles and i was off on another tour of the city by his fabulous tour guide-nephew Sebastian who had a day off from classes at the University. We started the morning visiting the University of Antioquia (the region where Medellin is located). The university has some fabulous graffiti and you could sense the activity in the students there. Afterwards, we went to the museum of Antioquia and the Plaza de Botero. As exhusted as I am of museums, this was probably my favorite thus far. Excellent display of Colombian artists and a very moving exhibition about Displacement which focused on situations around the globe of individuals and groups of people who have been forcefully displaced from their homes by violence. It was a beautiful display of faces, voices, maps, and images of the shared struggle by people in all parts of the world. For Colombians who are experiencing this in their own coutry today, they can see that they are not alone in the struggle for equality and peace.In the afternoon, we had lunch with Mauricio´s brothers and then visited the new public library in downtown as well as the Plaza Cisneros which is a field of vertical light columns. We tasted some traditional Colombian sweets...Minisigui, Pulpo de Tamarindo, Tabla de Coco, and then I had to have Crepes & Waffles one more time before leaving the city. This is a phenomenon in Colombia and perhaps my new favorite restaurant. I just might have to open a franchise if I can´t find work upon returning to the US.

Crepes & Waffles...need I say more?!?

Sadly, I departed Medellin on Tuesday morning heading south for Ecuador. Due to some civil unrest on the Pan American highway where indigenous groups had taken control of the roads, I would have been unable to pass through the country by bus so I left Medellin on a plane to the South of Colombia. My time with Mauricio and his family was one of the best parts of my trip. They were so kind to me and we had such a nice time getting to know one another.